Golf practice device

ABSTRACT

A golf practice device comprising a horizontal arm, a further arm mounted on one end of the arm for rotation about the arm, a ball on the outer end of the further arm, an indicator to indicate the number of revolutions of the further arm about the arm when the ball is hit by a golf club, a fade and draw indicator to indicate the extent of rotation of the ball with respect to the further arm and a deviation measuring mechanism for measuring deviations of the path of the ball from a plane perpendicular to the arm. The deviation measuring mechanism comprises a pivot mounting for the further arm, having a pivot of pivotally mounted interlocked arms displaceable with respect to a scale, one or other of the arms being moved with respect to the scale upon movement of the further arm about the pivot axis and thereby locking the other of the arms against movement with respect to the scale. The device also includes a pivotable detachable arm including a target end and a short-putt indicator, which can be used with the tethered golf ball to determine whether or not putts of desired lengths have been achieved.

United States Patent [191 Hall [ Sept. 24, 1974 GOLF PRACTICE DEVICE [76] Inventor: Richmond E. Hall, 2 Langley Rd.,

Highcliffe-on-Sea, England [22] Filed: Mar. 22, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 343,961

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Primary Examiner-George J. Marlo Attorney, Agent, or FirmFleit, Gipple & Jacobson 5 7 ABSTRACT A golf practice device comprising a horizontal arm, a further arm mounted on one end of the arm for rotation about the arm, a ball on the outer end of the further arm, an indicator to indicate the number of revolutions of the further arm about the arm when the ball is hit by a golf club, a fade and draw indicator to indicate the extent of rotation of the ball with respect to the further arm and a deviation measuring mechanism for measuring deviations of the path of the ball from a plane perpendicular to the arm. The deviation measuring mechanism comprises a pivot mounting for the further arm, having a pivot of pivotally mounted interlocked arms displaceable with respect to a scale, one or other of the arms being moved with respect to the scale upon movement of the further arm about the pivot axis and thereby locking the other of the arms against movement with respect to the scale. The device also includes a pivotable detachable arm including a target end and a short-putt indicator, which can be used with the tethered golf ball to determine whether or not putts of desired lengths have been achieved.

4 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTEDSEPZMHM sum 3 or 4 FIG. '7.

Q PIC-5.4.

GOLF PRACTICE DEVICE The invention relates to modifications and improvements in the golf practice device described, illustrated and claimed in the specification of my US. Pat. No. 3,656,759.

According to the invention, a device for use in practicing swinging a golf club comprises an arm secured in a substantially horizontal orientation, a further arm mounted on said arm adjacent one end of said arm for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis aligned with said arm, a ball mounted at an outer end of said further arm in a manner to permit rotation of the ball about an axis aligned with said further arm and indicating means comprising means for measuring rotation of the ball about said axis aligned with said further arm with respect to said further arm or a portion of said further arm when the ball is struck by a golf club, means for counting the number of revolutions of said further arm about said substantially horizontal axis aligned with said arm when the ball is struck by a golf club and means for indicating any deviations of the further arm, as it rotates about said substantially horizontal axis aligned with said arm when the ball is struck by a golf club, from a plane perpendicular to said substantially horizontal axis aligned with said arm.

The means for indicating deviation preferably comprise a pivot mounting for the further arm, said pivot mounting having a pivot axis perpendicular to the longitudinal extent of said further arm and perpendicular to the longitudinal extent of said arm, and displaceable means displaceable upon movement of said further arm about said pivot mounting, to indicate the extent by which a golf shot played would have been pushed or pulled away from a desired line of flight had the ball been free. The displaceable means preferably comprise a pair of pivotally mounted interlocked arms displaceable with respect to a scale provided on an adjacent plate, the interlocking of the arms being such that movement of either arm from a zero position locks the other of the arms against movement. A removable projection is advantageously provided on said further arm below said pivot mounting to abut one or other of said interlocked arms upon movement of the pivot arm about said pivot mounting and to displace said arm with respect to the scale.

Although the further arm automatically centers itself as it spins round the arm, so that it spins in a plane perpendicular to said horizontal axis after the first few revolutions, it will be possible, after the further arm has come to rest, to determine the extent by which it moved out of said plane.

The further arm advantageously includes adjustment means whereby it can be lengthened or shortened to adjust the lie of the ball with respect to a surface over which the ball is suspended. Advantageously such adjustment means comprise cooperating screwthreaded portions on an upper and a lower part of the further arm.

Advantageously the means for indicating deviation can be readily adjustable to be non-operative to permit the further arm to be mounted on the arm without restraint thereby permitting it to move freely in all directions to permit putting to be practiced.

A putting arm is advantageously detachably mounted on said arm for pivotable movement about said axis. Thus the putting arm is advantageously releasably securable to a bushing rotatably mounted on said arm and includes a gate at its outer end, into which gate a lower portion of said further arm can be propelled by striking the ball carried by the further arm with a putter. The detachable putting arm advantageously includes a short putt indicator formed as an arm pivotally mounted on the putting arm to indicate by how much, if at all, the further arm stops short of said gate on the putting arm when the ball is struck by a putter. The bushing oh which the putting arm is mounted advantageously includes a scale cooperating with a marking on said arm whereby the putting arm can be set to an angular position corresponding to a length of putt which is to be played.

The invention is diagrammatically illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a golf practice device according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but to a smaller scale and including a mounting stand for the golf practicing device and a putting attachment;

FIG. 3 is a view of the direction of arrow III of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an elevation of the upper part of the further arm;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view on line VV of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an elevation of the directional indicating means;

FIG. 7 is a rear view of the direction indicating means of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the golf practice device of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 9 is a sectional elevation on line IX-IX of FIG. 8.

Referring to the drawings, a golf practice device is shown comprising a base 1 mounting an upright 2 on which the arm 3 is mounted in a substantially horizontal orientation. Rotatably mounted on the outer end of the arm 3 is a further arm 4 which at its lower end supports a ball 5 with a slight clearance above a surface of the base 1. The surface of the base 1 is advantageously formed by sheet 6 of polypropylene carpet with a sponge underlay 7.

An upper portion 8 of the further arm 4 is secured by means of a pivot screw 9 to a clamp ring 10 which grips a housing 11. The housing 11 is secured to a screwed spindle 11a which extends within a bore in the arm 3 and cooperates with a nut 12 secured to a marker pin 12a. The marker pin 12a is movable longitudinally of the arm 3 in a slot 13 and cooperates with a scale 14 marked on the arm 3 adjacent the slot 13. Thus, if the ball 5 is struck by a golf club it rotates, together with the further arm 4 about the arm 3 and moves the pin 12a along the scale 14 to indicate the force with which the ball was struck and thus the distance which the ball would have carried had it been free.

A braking member 15 is mounted within the housing 11, by a spring 16 and a member 17 secured to the housing 11 by a screw 18, and bears against an end portion 3a of the arm 3 to apply a braking force tending to slow down the movement of the further arm 4 about the arm 3. The braking force applied by the brake 15 is variable by means of an adjusting screw 19 which controls the force of a spring which bears on the braking member 15, the upper face of the screw 19 being marked 1 to 9 and W and cooperating with an indicating mark 20 on the clamp 10, whereby the braking force can be adjusted according to the number iron club with which the ball is to be struck or with a wooden club, thereby to adjust the length of shot indicated to compensate for the different height of trajectory which a free ball would have depending upon the type of golf club with which it was struck.

A lower part of the further arm 4 is secured to the part 8 by means of a plug and socket arrangement and a locking pin 21. Mounted adjacent the upper portion 8 of the further arm 4 and secured to the clamp ring 10 by screws 22 and 23 is a direction indicating plate 24. The plate 24 has a pair of indicating arms 25 and 26 pivotally mounted thereon at positions 27, 28 respectively, the arms 25, 26 mounting screws 29, 30 adjacent their lower ends and the slots in the heads of the screws 29, 30 cooperating with a pair of scales 31, 32 inscribed on the plate 24. Before a golf shot is played the indicating arms 25, 26 are adjusted so that the slots in the screws 29, 30 are aligned with zero marks on the scales 31, 32 respectively and in this position pointed portions of cam arrangements 33, 34 at the upper ends of the members 25,26 respectively lie opposite one another. The upper portion 8 of the further arm 4 mounts a screw 35 which, in the position shown in FIG. 3, projects towards the plate 24 a sufficient amount to engage a side face of one or other of the indicating arms 25, 26 if the further arm 4 effects a pivotal movement about the pivot screw 9.

If when the ball 5 is struck by a golf club it is struck so that the ball 5 and further arm 4 are caused to move in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal extent of the arm 3 the upper portion 8 of the further arm 4 will not make any pivotal movement about the pivot screw 9. If however the golf shot played is pushed or pulled then the upper portion 8 of the further arm 4 will move about the pivot screw 9 and the end of the screw 35 will press one or other of the indicating arms 25, 26 outwardly. FIGS. 6 and 7 show the direction indicator after a shot has been played in which the ball was pulled to the left thereby moving the indicating arm 26 outwardly from the zero position. Movement of the indicating arm 26 outwardly has caused its cam portion 34 to engage beneath the cam portion 33 of the indicating arm 25 whereby the configuration of the cam portions 33 and 34 lock the indicating arm 25 against movement. Had the shot played been pushed so that the indicating arm 25 was moved outwardly from the zero position, a similar locking arrangement would have occurred preventing the indicating arm 26 from moving. A spring 36 surrounding the screw 22 has downwardly extending arms 37 which engage one on each side of the screw 35 and tend to move the upper portion 8 of the further arm 4 back to a position in which it lies in a plane perpendicular to the arm 3 after a first initial revolution or a few revolutions. Guide strips 38 and 39, the positions of which are merely indicated in dotted lines in FIG. 7, are spaced from the plate 24 by spacers and maintain the indicating arms 25, 26' in a plane parallel to the plane of the plate 24.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the further arm 4 has a tubular portion 38 which engages its upper end over the upper portion 8 and is locked by the pin 21. The tubular portion 38 has an outwardly turned flange 39 at its lower edge which is a sliding fit in an inverted cupshaped member 40. A spring 41 extends between the lower face of the cup-shaped member and the flange 39 and pushes these two members apart. A bushing 42 is secured by screws 43 in the lower part of the cup shaped member 40, items 38 to 43 forming a shock absorber to absorb the initial impact when the ball is struck. The bushing 42 has a downwardly depending portion 44 which has a screw threaded bore in which a screw threaded upwardly extending portion 45 of the further arm 4 engages. Below the bushing 42 and its downwardly depending portion 44, a cup-shaped member 46 is engaged on the screw-threaded portion 45 and is lockable thereon by means of a clamping screw 47. A spring 48 extends between the bushing 42 and the lower surface of the inside of the cup-shaped member 46. One of the screws 43 mounts an indicator pointer 49 which cooperates with a scale 50 marked on the outside of the cup-shaped portion 46.

Before a shot is played the indicator pointer 49 is aligned with a zero mark on the scale 50. The shot is then played and, when the further arm 4 ceases to rotate about the arm 3, the scale 50 is examined to see whether the indicator pointer 49 has moved away from the zero position on the scale 50. If the shot was struck in a manner such that side spin was imparted to the ball, which spin had the ball been free would have caused the shot to be sliced or hooked, the indicator pointer 49 will have moved away from the zero position to indicate the extent of the side spin imparted to the ball. By screwing the screw-threaded portion 45 upwardly or downwardly in the screw-threaded bore of the bushing 42, 44, the lie of the ball above the cover 6 of the base 1 can be adjusted as desired, for example to give a high lie when a wooden club is to be used or a low lie" where an iron club is to be used.

A bushing 51 is mounted on the arm 3 adjacent the housing 11 and has a pair of sockets (not shown), on its face remote from the housing 11, into which a pair of pins projecting from a detachable putting arm 52 can be engaged. The bushing 51 has a portion 53 rigidly secured to the arm 3 by a pin 54 and a portion 55 rotatable on the portion 53 but frictionally held by a springloaded ball and screw arrangement 56. The outer face of the portion 55 bears a scale 57 which cooperates with a marker 58 on the portion 53. At its outer end the detachable putting arm 52 has an outer arm 59 which includes a gate 60 with a movable member 61 therein. Adjacent the bushing 51 the detachable putting arm 52 pivotally mounts a short-putt indicator 62 which has a bent portion 63 at its outer end.

When the golf practice device is to be used for putting, the screw 35 is unscrewed so that its inner end no longer lies between the indicating arms 25 and 26 and the further arm 4 is thus freely pivotable about the pivot screw 9. A desired length of putt is then set by moving the detachable putting arm 52, and the portion 55 in which it is engaged, until the desired length of putt is indicated by cooperation between the marker 58 and the scale 57. The ball is then struck by a putter to attempt to cause a lower portion 64 of the further arm 4 to engage in the gate 60 to a sufficient extent to knock over the movable member 61. If the portion 64 of the further arm 4 reaches the angular portion 59 of the putting arm 52 but does not engage in the gate then the putt is wide. If the portion 64 of the further am 4 strikes the angular portion 59 of the putting arm 52 and moves it upwardly then the putt is too stronglf the portion 64 does not reach the angular portion 59 the putt is short and the short-putt indicator 63 is held in the position to which it has been moved by engagement with the portion 64 and the putting arm 52 is moved towards the short-putt indicator 63, the amount by which the putt was short being obtainable by subtraction from the scale 57. When the practice device is used for playing all shots other than putts, the putting arm 52 is removed.

What is claimed is:

l. A device for use in practicing swinging a golf club comprising an arm secured in a substantially horizontal orientation, a further arm mounted on said arm adjacent one end of said arm for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis aligned with said arm, a ball mounted at an outer end of said further arm in a manner to permit rotation of the ball about an axis aligned with said further arm; and indicating means comprising means for measuring rotation of the ball about said axis aligned with said further arm with respect to said further arm or a portion of said further arm when the ball is struck by a golf club, means for counting the number of revolutions of said further arm about said substantially horizontal axis aligned with said arm when the ball is struck by a golf club and means for indicating any deviations of the further arm, as it rotates about said substantially horizontal axis aligned with said arm when the ball is struck by a golf club, from a plane perpendicular to said substantially horizontal axis aligned with said arm, said means for indicating deviation comprising a pivot mounting for said further arm, said pivot mounting having a pivot axis perpendicular to the longitudinal extent of said further arm and perpendicular to the longitudinal extent of said arm and displaceable means displaceable upon movement of said further arm about said pivot mounting to indicate the extent by which a golf shot played would have been pushed or pulled away from a desired line of flight had the ball been free, said displaceable means comprising a pair of pivotally mounted interlocked arms displaceable with respect to a scale provided on an adjacent plate, interlocking of said arms being such that movement of either of said arms from a zero position locks the other of said arms against movement.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a removable projection is provided on said further arm below said pivot mounting to abut one or other of 'said interlocked arms upon movement of said further arm about said pivot mounting and to displace said one or other of said interlocked arms with respect to said scale.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1, including a putting arm detachably mounted on said am for pivotable movement about said horizontal axis and releasably securable to a bushing rotatably mounted on said arm; a gate at the outer end of said putting arm, into which gate a lower portion of said further arm can be propelled by striking the ball carried by said further arm with a putter, and a scale on said bushing cooperating with a marking on said putting arm whereby said putting arm can be set to an angular position corresponding to a length of putt which is to be played.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said putting arm includes a short-putt indicator formed as an arm pivotably mounted on the putting arm to indicate by how much, if at all, said further arm stops short of said gate on said putting arm when the ball is struck by aputter. 

1. A device for use in practicing swinging a golf club comprising an arm secured in a substantially horizontal orientation, a further arm mounted on said arm adjacent one end of said arm for rotation about a suBstantially horizontal axis aligned with said arm, a ball mounted at an outer end of said further arm in a manner to permit rotation of the ball about an axis aligned with said further arm; and indicating means comprising means for measuring rotation of the ball about said axis aligned with said further arm with respect to said further arm or a portion of said further arm when the ball is struck by a golf club, means for counting the number of revolutions of said further arm about said substantially horizontal axis aligned with said arm when the ball is struck by a golf club and means for indicating any deviations of the further arm, as it rotates about said substantially horizontal axis aligned with said arm when the ball is struck by a golf club, from a plane perpendicular to said substantially horizontal axis aligned with said arm, said means for indicating deviation comprising a pivot mounting for said further arm, said pivot mounting having a pivot axis perpendicular to the longitudinal extent of said further arm and perpendicular to the longitudinal extent of said arm and displaceable means displaceable upon movement of said further arm about said pivot mounting to indicate the extent by which a golf shot played would have been pushed or pulled away from a desired line of flight had the ball been free, said displaceable means comprising a pair of pivotally mounted interlocked arms displaceable with respect to a scale provided on an adjacent plate, interlocking of said arms being such that movement of either of said arms from a zero position locks the other of said arms against movement.
 2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a removable projection is provided on said further arm below said pivot mounting to abut one or other of said interlocked arms upon movement of said further arm about said pivot mounting and to displace said one or other of said interlocked arms with respect to said scale.
 3. A device as claimed in claim 1, including a putting arm detachably mounted on said arm for pivotable movement about said horizontal axis and releasably securable to a bushing rotatably mounted on said arm; a gate at the outer end of said putting arm, into which gate a lower portion of said further arm can be propelled by striking the ball carried by said further arm with a putter, and a scale on said bushing cooperating with a marking on said putting arm whereby said putting arm can be set to an angular position corresponding to a length of putt which is to be played.
 4. A device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said putting arm includes a short-putt indicator formed as an arm pivotably mounted on the putting arm to indicate by how much, if at all, said further arm stops short of said gate on said putting arm when the ball is struck by a putter. 